A Hundred Million Suns
by FrenchFriesCafe
Summary: Post war. The wards of Hogwarts are collapsing and the school is in danger. The students need to reunite if they are going to survive. The professors along with Harry and his friends come up with new plans for the reformation of the school.
1. Prologue

J.K. Rowling's characters

---

"We have to do something Albus. There are still death eaters out there who want revenge for the death of their lord. We have to protect the school."

"Minerva, you must understand. The school's wards largely rely on the people within it. They've been falling apart for years now as the students fight amongst themselves. If we are to protect the school we must find a way to reunite the houses."

"But…But that's impossible. The competition between the houses have been going on for centuries. How do we reunite the school within the space of a single month?"

"Headmaster, if I may provide my own idea."

"Of course Severus."

"Perhaps, inform the students of the dilemma and they may group together as a survival instinct."

"It may work, but it is risky. It can just as easily cause a deeper split as the students may resort to independently fighting for survival."

"I think we should do it slowly. Provide a series of events which will have the school together. Nothing competitive between houses."

"That's an excellent idea Minerva…"

Harry listened from the other side of the corridor as his teachers discussed the plans for the reformation of Hogwarts. The wards were collapsing? Sudden fear swept over Harry at the thought of his school losing it's power. He knew that death eaters were still at large and he knew who they were after: him. Guilt joined the fear as Harry realised it was his fault for putting the school in danger. He would have to do something himself. The idea the professors had come to would never work quickly enough. Perhaps there would be something that didn't necessarily have to join the students but instead join the school.


	2. Event 1: Masquerade

_J.K. Rowling's characters._

_------_

Seventh year Gryffindors stared up at the notice board, all eyes wide with curiosity. A large poster took up the majority of space and screamed out towards the school.

**October 31st**

**To all students. This years Halloween ball will be for the first time ever, masquerade. We ask all students to keep their identity secret from each other.**

**Ball starts at six-thirty pm in the great hall, until one am.**

**We expect every student to attend.**

"If it's masquerade, how can we bring dates?"

"You don't Ronald. We're probably expected to meet with other students and find someone once we're there." Hermione answered.

"Wait, so you're going to be spending the night with some other bloke!" Ronald sat up from the armchair by the fire place, face already going red.

Hermione gave a small grin and Ron's sudden and rare show of protectiveness.

"I'll find a way around it Ron."

Ron blinked, before giving Hermione a quick peck on the cheek and then turning back to Harry and their chess game.

"So who you going with mate?"

"It's a masquerade, Ron. I'll just pick someone up when I'm there."

Ron sighed. "The life of a bachelor." He looked away forlornly towards the window.

Hermione frowned and gave a slight cough at Ron's hope to be single again.

Harry decided to quickly flip the way the conversation was heading to an argument.

"…is a _lonely_ one."

Ron looked at Harry. "Yeah, I suppose. Sorry for you mate." He reached over and gave Harry a condescending pat on the back before moving his bishop.

"Checkmate."

Harry groaned and fell back in the chair in defeat.

* * *

The golden trio was currently in the library, searching through rows upon rows of books. Well, Harry was. Hermione was at the table noting down something, whilst Ron was slumped down scrawling a black mess over a piece of parchment.

Harry looked down the spine of a dark green battered book. "How to ward your home". Harry pulled the book out, adding it to the large pile he already had.

"Harry, what are you searching for?" Ron grumbled, flick through one of the many thick books.

"Wards." Harry answered.

"Clearly." Hermione said with sarcasm that surprised both Ron and Harry. " But why."

"'cos"

Both Ron and Hermione sighed at the short answer and turned back to their previous menial tasks.

"Ah ha!" Ron and Harry turned around to look at Hermione with bemused expressions.

"I think I've found a way to get past the masquerade."

"Well." Ron prompted.

"I suspect that there will be charms over the hall so that when we enter, parts of us can change so we would be unrecognizable with the mask on. To get over that I suspect that if we wear something simple, that our friends know we own, they'll know it's us."

"Can't we just show you the clothes we're wearing first?"

"No, they'll probably change that because it's so obvious. But I would imagine that they wouldn't change small details like hairclips and jewellery."

"Makes sense." Harry nodded.

* * *

It was the day of the ball and students piled into the great hall. The moment Harry entered he felt a weird tingle wash over his face as his mask changed into something more elaborate that covered the majority of it.

Passing one of the many mirrors that hugged the walls, Harry saw himself in his new attire. His glasses now gone, were replaced with a green, silver and black wave that flew over his face, covering his forehead, eyes and half his nose before finishing into a curled point at his jaw line. His clothes had changed from the plain robes he had worn, into a black robe with green lining. His close fitting black trousers had not changed, nor did his white shirt, however his tie had disappeared and his neck now bare with the top two buttons of the shirt undone.

Harry turned to face the rest of the students. Girls and boys had segregated themselves to opposite sides of the hall, huddling together in uncertainty. An awkward air hung over the groups as they knew no one from the other side, or their own for that matter.

Finally a man with a long silver beard and plain black mask (clearly Dumbledore) moved to stand at the front of the hall.

"Welcome, welcome, to Hogwarts first masquerade ball. You may have noticed your attire for the evening has changed. The colours that now adorn you represent your character, whether it be your house colours, another's house colours or perhaps something else altogether." A flickering thought moved through Harry's head as he questioned the Slytherin colours he was now decorated with. "For now the first dance will begin, everyone grab a partner."

Dumbledore stepped to the side and waved on the music. The dance floor remained its vast empty space and a few scuffed their shoes in awkwardness of the obvious gap. Slowly, a seventh year boy with red hair crossed the hall and stopped in front of a brown haired girl, with a gold and red hairclip. He bowed at the waist and offered his hand, which the girl quickly took with a smile.

Harry smiled at his friends, the hairclip being the decided logo for Hermione. Harry had seen Ron buy it for her in Hogsmeade and Harry felt proud for his best friends' courageousness.

Once the pair were on the floor, more couples slowly filled it. None were quite as relaxed as Ron and Hermione as they didn't know who their partner was. Soon, there were very few people left standing and Harry took his chance to move before he was left by himself.

Summoning his Gryffindor courage, Harry crossed the hall to a dark haired girl dressed in a patterned blue dress. Without a word he bowed in front of her and offered her a hand. She accepted and together they moved to the dance floor.

The pair danced in jerky motions, not really sure what to do. Finally Harry sighed and started a conversation of mostly small talk.

"I think Dumbledore's finally lost it, organising something like this."

The girl looked at him with wide eyes, before a smirk graced her features.

"Well, I always thought the old coot wasn't right in the head."

Harry's eyebrows raised at the comment.

"He is a genius though."

"He would be if it weren't for the fact he only ever spoke in riddles." The girl snapped back.

"I think he forgets that not everyone's mind works in as large a loops as his."

The girl hummed in reply and the dance finished in a tense silence.

"Alright everyone, please swap partners." Dumbledore's voice boomed over the dance floor.

Everyone hurried themselves to find another partner and out of the corner of his eye, Harry saw Ron and Hermione reluctantly split. A small hand grabbed his, and before Harry knew it a fifth year had kidnapped him as partner.

Throughout the dance, the girl dressed in hot pink, chatted away, not really caring for Harry's reply, but more for the fact she was on the arm of a handsome boy. The girl spoke of hot boys and sexual innuendos. Her body was tightly pressed up against Harry's and he got the feeling she was looking for something from him. At the end of the song, Harry rushed to find someone else, praying it wasn't another crazed, hormone driven loon.

The dances continued on for an hour and Harry continued swapping partners. Once it was all finished Harry slumped down at the nearest table, waiting for food to appear.

Next to him he found what looked like a second year girl dressed in a frilly purple dress. She was already in deep conversation with a third or fourth year boy on the other side of her.

Harry turned at the sound of a deep huff and found the previously empty chair next to him, now occupied with a tall blonde who looked the same age as him. The boy had a grey mask with an green outer lining, which covered his eyes. He wore a similar outfit to Harry's except he had grey dress robes with a green tie. Nimble fingers reached up and tugged at the tie, loosening it.

"Merlin, I'm tired. How can girls be so energetic." The blonde said to Harry, not quite looking at him.

"Yeah, well I've had some pretty dodgy dance partners." Harry smirked in reply.

The blonde gave a glance at Harry before offering his hand.

"I would give you my name but that's against the rules, you'll have to settle on a simple gesture for introductions."

"Fine by me" Harry replied, grasping the other boys hand. "I actually find it easier to speak to people when they don't know who I am."

"Shy then?"

"Not really, my name just scares them off."

The boy frowned before turning to the plates, which had suddenly been piled with food.

The night went on and Harry continued to talk to the blonde boy. Their conversation was amiable and Harry determined his new found friend to be very humorous (albeit his jokes were quite dark). They spent an hour and a half talking over dinner, before everyone was swept to the dance hall again.

Instead of separating, the two stuck together, looking for dance partners close by. The blonde quickly grabbed a girl by the wrist and swung her round to face Harry.

"This is my friend, perhaps you're like to take her as your dance partner. I can assure you she is perfectly sane and will no doubt make a good change from your previous dances."

"You figured out a way to get through the mask system then." Harry turned to the girl with short black hair and deeply bowed. "If you wouldn't mind." Harry asked.

The girl gave a small smile. "Well, if my friend has recommended you, it will be awfully rude of me to say no." The girl said, taking Harry's hand.

The pair danced two songs, full of a variety of topics. Harry changed a few more partners but after fifteen minutes went over to a table to grab some drinks. He quickly found the blonde boy and black haired girl joining him and they took pleasure in each others company. The table was later filled with another boy who had given up on the dances after a few pointed heels too many stepping on his foot.

This boy had a light auburn hair and wore a blue suit, with a white mask. The mingling carried on and when it finally reached one o'clock, Harry felt like he had found some new friends.

Dumbledore stood as the clock finished chiming.

"Now, I would like everyone to remove your masks and find out who those you have been conversing with all night are."

The four at the table turner to each other and held their breaths.

The girl spoke up. "On the count of three?" The boys quickly nodded, reaching for their masks.

"One, Two…Three!"

The masks were pulled off and the four stared wide eyes at each other.

"Potter!"

"Malfoy?"

"Potter?"

"Parkinson!"

The two Slytherins and Gryffindor started a glaring match between them.

"…er Hello?"

Harry broke off, to look at the Hufflepuff next to him, who had been forgotten by the other three.

"Oh, hey, Ernie."

"Heya Harry." Ernie Macmillan said in reply. Macmillan turned to face Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson. He nodded at both of them and gave them a small smile. "Malfoy, Parkinson." He yawned and stood up. "I'm tired, think I'll head up to bed. It was nice speaking to you all, I had fun tonight." He gave all three a wave before limping out the hall.

The three stared disbelieving at the Hufflepuff who had acted so amiably to the two Slytherins even going so far as to compliment them. Pansy suddenly grinned.

"Right, well I'm off to bed to. Night Draco." She paused giving Harry a weary look. "Goodnight Potter." She nodded, giving a slight smile and trotted off.

Draco and Harry looked at each, blinking in surprise at the strange actions of the Slytherin, who was previously known as one of Gryffindors biggest enemies.

"Right…er, well night." Harry nodded, before realising who he had just nodded to and running out of the hall. Soon after Draco jumped out of his seat and rushed to the Slytherin dorms, confusion etched on his face.

* * *


	3. Event 2: The Votes

J.K. Rowling's characters

--

It was the Monday after the Halloween ball and the Slytherins and Gryffindors piled into the potions classroom, taking their seats on opposite sides.

"Come on Draco, you have to admit Potter was a gentlemen."

"Oh, Merlin Pansy, don't tell me your being pulled in by _Potter_."

"Well I didn't see you complaining when you spent half the night speaking to him or when you were laughing with him over a bottle of butter beer."

"I wasn't laughing with him, I was laughing _at _him."

"Whatever, Draco."

The pair quickly stopped their hushed whispering as they watched the golden trio sit down nearby.

"You mean you actually spent the night with Malfoy!"

"Look, Ron, I didn't realise they were Slytherins."

"How could you not?!"

"Oh, I don't know, maybe the masks covering their faces!"

"But I mean, weren't they being rude and all."

"…actually they were both really nice."

Ron and Hermione stared at Harry with their mouths open. Hermione opened her mouth to say more but was silenced when Snape stormed into the classroom. The two Slytherins in front of the trio turned back to face the class, a slight blush tinting their faces.

Immediately the room was filled with people rustling through their bags for quills and parchments before ducking their heads low for the long lesson.

* * *

Harry slammed the thirtieth book on wards shut. He threw it over the side of his bed in a huff before picking up the next one. Skimming through it, Harry quickly gave up and dropped it on the floor, next to the waste zone of other useless book. Harry sneered at the pile; Hermione would have his head if she saw it.

None of the books were right, most not even close. Hogwarts defences were big and complicated. He had looked at them himself and had narrowed his original pile down, but none of it was right.

Harry opened to the first page of a massive red book. "Defending the den." It said. Harry tutted at the name. He didn't want to set up wards for a den, he wanted wards for a castle. A big, massive, old, historical castle. _Wait…Old! Historical! _

Harry quickly slung the book to the side and reached over to the other set of books. He flicked through the different dates they were published in and the eras the spells were found. Harry didn't want any modern wards, he was looking for something ancient. Ancient magic. The wards were created during the time of the founders so they would most likely had used ancient magic to create them.

Quickly, Harry ran to the library, taking the useless books back and then began searching in the back section for ancient magic. He was one step closer, but it was still too far away.

* * *

When Pansy and Draco entered into the Slytherin common room it was filled with people hastily scribbling notes, before dropping the notes into a big black box.

"What's going on?" Pansy asked Blaise who had just strolled past, own parchment in hand.

"Look at the board." Was all he said before wandering off.

Both Pansy and Draco moved to the notice board. The masquerade ball information was now gone and was instead replaced with another notice.

**Your Vote**

**Want to find out the student body's opinion? Want to know what is on your peers minds? Your prefects have come up with a series of unanswered questions for the whole school to answer. Write down your opinion down on any piece of paper and drop it in the black box your common room has been allocated with. **

**Only vote once for each topic once and we ask for you to not vote for yourself. Topics are shown below:**

**Best Professor at Hogwarts**

**Worst Professor at Hogwarts**

**Most admirable student at Hogwarts**

**Best Quidditch player at Hogwarts**

**Hottest Male at Hogwarts**

**Hottest Female at Hogwarts**

**Best couple at Hogwarts**

**Best possible couple at Hogwarts**

**The results will be shown on the notice board next to the great hall, including percentages of all opinions. Final votes will be given out at Dinner on Friday and winners will be given prizes. Closing date is this Friday at four pm.**

"Oh, this is exciting. Hey, Draco, what are you going to put?" Pansy squealed in delight

"I don't know yet." Draco snapped, his brow pulled down in thought.

"Better get writing Draco or you'll run out of time." Draco rolled his eyes at Pansy's delight before strutting off into his chambers.

* * *

Harry walked past the notice board outside the great hall, stealing a glance at the votes so far. The vote that came hand in hand with the most gossip was the best possible couple in Hogwart's. He couldn't help but admit he was a bit intrigued as to who they would pick. He knew the outcome could end in a very embarrassing year for the two or a romantic relationship.

The girls had been acting oddly all week. There was a constant giggling that filled the halls as they discussed hottest male and best couple. Even Hermione had taken the time to write up a list of candidates for each topic and then rating them.

Hermione was also constantly going on about house unity. Harry had managed to point out that Hermione hadn't done much for house unity at the masquerade as she spent the night with Ron and promptly shut her up.

However it seemed that the events had encouraged house relations, causing them to speak to each other more and more. Harry had even seen other houses jump in on each others conversations. He couldn't help but raise his eyebrows when he saw Millicent Bulstrode and Pansy Parkinson join in on a conversation with Pansy Patil and Lavender Brown about whether Blaise Zabini was hotter then Draco Malfoy; he abruptly blocked off his ears when he had heard too much

He spent his week avoiding any contact with Slytherins, especially after the fiasco at the masquerade. He had however spent some time speaking with Ernie Macmillan and had also seen him speaking with the two Slytherins.

The board itself was an array of colour. There were at least five different options for each topic each with different numbers of votes. Harry smiled at the sight of Ron and Hermione's name under best couple. His eyes caught sight of worst teachers and noticed everyone's name up there, varying from Professor Snape to Professor Sinistra. The extra names caught Harry as he wondered whether Snape really was such a bad teacher when compared with teachers like Trelawney.

Harry moved on and took his seat at the Gryffindor table. Looking across he noticed Ginny staring at him with glazed eyes.

"Er, Ginny, you alright?"

"I'm fine Harry." She answered shortly.

There was a pause where Harry raised his eyebrow before helping himself to food.

"Hey Harry, have you seen the results board?"

"Just had a glance, why?"

"Perhaps you should look closely at the possible couples board."

Harry frowned at Ginny but she quickly ran off before he could question her. Returning to his meal, Harry forgot the comment in favour for his fish and chips.

* * *

"Pansy…Pansy!…PANSY!!"

"What, what? I'm over here!" Pansy called out to Millicent Bulstrode who was screaming out her name in the middle of the common room. The girl quickly trotted over and fell into the chair next to Pansy, panting from exhaustion at the jog across the room.

"Have…Have 'gasp' you seen…'pant'…the possible couple options?"

Pansy's eyes lit up quickly; whatever Millicent was starting, it sounded like gossip.

"Ooh. Why? Who's there?"

"You…"

"Yes, yes, yes?"

"…And Potter."

Pansy blinked in shock. "…What?"

"You're paired with Potter as best possible couple."

"'cough' …repeat that again, slowly."

"You. Are. Paired. With. Potter. For. Best. Poss-"

"ALRIGHT! Alright! I get it. Oh god, I think I'm having a panic attack."

Pansy abruptly fell back in her chair taking deep gasping breaths clutching her hand to her chest.

"Pansy! PANSY!" Millicent quickly left her chair and grabbed Pansy hoping to shake her back into the real world.

"Pansy! Are. 'shake' You. 'shake' Alright? 'shake'"

"I'M FINE!" Pansy screamed back, pushing Millicent away from her. They both collapsed into the chairs opposite each other, staring into nothingness as they contemplated the situation.

"Well…He is kinda hot."

"Pansy!" Millicent stared at her friend, who had clearly recovered from her panic attack but was now suffering from delirium.

"And he's a real gentlemen."

"Pansy! What the hell are you talking about? This is Potter."

"Yes, I know." Pansy said, her voice light and whimsical.

Millicent stared at her now deranged friend. Shaking her head in dismay, Millicent got up and went to her dorm room, leaving Pansy to stare out the window, lost in fantasy land.

* * *

"Harry, don't look now but Ron's just arrived and he's fuming."

Harry turned and frowned at Hermione before looking over his shoulder to look at a very red faced Ron who was storming across the common room.

"Why's he angry?"

"You don't know?"

Harry had no time to answer as the Weasley quickly entered Harry's direct line of sight.

"You!" He shouted.

"Me." Harry said meekly.

"What the hell is going on with you pairing up with my sister?"

_Ok. What the hell was Ron going on about? _

"What?"

"You and my sister are paired up in the best possible couple board."

Harry's eyebrows rose. _Oh so that was what Ginny was talking about at lunch._

"Oh…Really?"

"Yes! And what are you going to do about it?"

"Um….nothing."

"…Wait, so your not gonna pursue her or anything."

"NO! She's like my little sister!"

"…Oh, Ok then." Ron quickly grabbed the space on the sofa next to Harry.

"So, we're good?"

"Yeah, we're good."

The boys quickly settled back and took out the exploding snap cards. Hermione merely rolled her eyes at the two.

"Speaking of the best possible couples, there's another pair including you Harry."

"Eh, you're popular mate." Ron slapped Harry on the back.

"Who's the person I'm paired with?"

"Pansy Parkinson."

"…Oh, that's cool." Harry quickly turned back to the came of Snap, ignoring Ron and Hermione's spluttering.

"Harry!"

Harry turned back with a bemused face.

"What?"

Hermione sighed. "Never mind."

Harry shrugged and placed down another card.

"SNAP!"

This time it was Ron who fell back to his chair in defeat, with Harry grinning madly at him.

* * *

The headmaster stood up and turned to the students in the great hall. His eyes were twinkling like mad and a smile pulled at his face, encouraging the grandfather's look. The students in turn looked up with expectant faces, not bothering to hide their curiosity

"The votes closed today at four pm and I hope everyone managed to include your own opinion. Different awards will be given to those who receive the most votes. This envelope entails the results and I wish all of you the best of luck."

Lifting up the envelop in his hand, Dumbledore carefully unsealed it. A breath waved across the room as they awaited the results. Dumbledore held up the results, quickly scanning them before announcing the winners.

"Best Professor…Professor Filius Flitwick."

A roar erupted from the Ravenclaw table and clapping awarded the professor as he stood and moved over to Dumbledore in order to collect his prize.

"A classroom spy set to tell you when your students are talking or passing notes." Dumbledore smiled as he passed the gift to Flitwick

"Will most certainly come in handy." He chuckled before hopping back to his seat.

"I must apologize for announcing this one, Worst Professor…Professor Binns"

Snape visibly breathed a sigh of relief. He may have been the most hated teacher but at least the students had the common sense to realise he wasn't the worst. There was an awkward silence as the students turned to look at the professor. The transparent man stayed where he was, his head slumped on his hand and his eyes firmly closed in sleep. The other professors couldn't help breathe a sigh of relief as the ghost lay ignorant to what had just happened.

Dumbledore gave a small cough to bring the attention of the room back. "Moving on. Most Admirable student…Isabelle Matrose!"

The screams and claps continued for a few minutes as a small fourth year timidly stepped up to the main table and took a voucher for Honeydukes. She sat back down at the end of the Hufflepuff table grinning madly as her friends congratulated her.

"Yes congratulations Miss Matrose. Now, Best Quidditch played goes to…Harry Potter!"

Harry walked up on stage, barely containing his grin. He beamed up at the headmaster as he took a voucher for Quality Quidditch Supplies. Harry practically skipped back down to his seat where Hermione and Ron congratulated him.

"Next, I believe is hottest male…Draco Malfoy!"

The Slytherin stood without hesitation and strutted across the room, taking his voucher to Gladrag's wizard wear. Giggling came from every girl in the room whilst the boys reluctantly clapped their hands together. Draco passed by the Gryffindor table and spotted Harry, they nodded to each other. No one noticed the exchange and it wasn't until Draco sat back down that he suddenly realised he had nodded to Harry Potter. It was an action that meant there was no hard feelings between the two but how was it possible that they could have moved from arch enemies for six years, to becoming amiable to each other; all within the space of a week. Draco shuddered and looked up, just in time to see a sixth year Ravenclaw girl sit back down from hottest female. Draco heard Pansy humpf next to him and cross her arms to sulk. The wolf whistles quickly died down and the students looked back up.

"Best couple goes to…Neville Longbottom and Hannah Abbott."

An empty silence or surprise answered the announcement before Hannah quickly stood up and the cheers started. She skipped over to where a frozen Neville sat in shock. Quickly, she practically dragged him from his seat and went up to the main table. The pair received a free booking to the three broomsticks on the next Hogsmeade evening.

"Lastly, we have best possible couple…"

Everyone shuffled, anxious to find out who they were and what would happen. Pansy cast a glance over to the Gryffindor table, looking for a certain Boy-who-lied. Her eyes quickly spotted emerald ones, which were looking straight back at her. The two blushed, before quickly turning back, questions whirring though both heads.

"Euan Abercrombie and Amy Dale."

The pair awkwardly moved up to the table, it was obvious they were trying hard not to look at each other. The moment the vouchers for Honeydukes were given they attempted to shot off back to their seats, however Dumbledore quickly stopped them, a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"What, no kiss?" He asked.

The pair paled and turned to look at each other. Both eyes were wide with fear and they breathed deeply. It was Euan who made the first move, stepping forward and placing a gentle kiss on Amy's cheek. A delicate blush crossed both faces as "awws" filled the room and they ran back to their seats in haste.

* * *

Please, Please Review. I would just like to thank my lovely reviewer: funny ducky, always there to encourage me :)

But seriously guys, a few more reviews would really make my day, even if they're telling me the story is really bad and to abandon it.


	4. Event 3: The Battle

**J.K. Rowling's characters.**

**Please read and review.**

**Finally, FINALLY! I have finished this chapter. Only on chapter left guys. Sorry it's taken me so long. Special thank yous to Funnyducky and BoredIsAnUnderstatement. My lovely reviewers. **

**P.S. Don't expect too much of the Pansy-Harry thing. It will be mentioned again but not a big deal.**

---

"It is not enough. We need the students to bond more." Snape practically cried out in frustration.

"It is up to the students. They must join naturally and not be forced." McGonagall calmly spoke although her hands were fidgeting in her lap; her nervousness getting the better of her as the wards were coming closer to crumbling.

The teachers were quiet as they thought of possible answers. The sound of shuffling filled the staff room.

"What about a game?" Sprout finally asked, looking at all the teachers eagerly.

"I really don't think now is the time, my dear." Flitwick said.

"No, no. I mean a game for the students. A team building exercise."

Dumbledore finally perked up at the idea. "Indeed, that it a good plan. There is a muggle game I have heard of that I think would be suitable and I have always wanted to try it out."

"A muggle game?" Snape sneered. "How do you suppose the wizarding children will be able to join."

"We simply tell them the rules, my dear Severus."

"And what is the game, Albus." McGongalls asked, a bit worried on what the old coot had planned this time.

Albus beamed and looked at the teachers with a broad smile. "Paint balling."

---

Harry wandered through the restricted section of the library under his invisibility cloak. No matter how many times he snuck in the library at night time it still gave Harry the creeps. The empty silence made any other noise immediately obvious. Harry could swear he heard someone moving on the floorboards three levels above him. The sound of rustling pages down the aisles did not disturb him as he knew from experience it was the books. Magic moved through the words of the literature, news, history and other information that belonged in those books, which made them all the more less attracting and inviting to Harry.

Finally he reached the ancient magic section. It was a whole aisle long. Harry sighed at the sight of it; it was going to be a long night.

--

Snape pursed his lips in frustration, snorting through his nostrils lightly. He flipped through the muggle catalogue that was full of different activities and games as well as a lot of adventure days out. Most of them made his head hurt; why on earth would a muggle want to jump out the sky? He tutted again, turning over the two hundred and fifty-seventh page; Snape was sure his finger prints were wearing off.

Not only that but Snape still was unsure of what he was looking for. What did people have in paint balling? Dumbledore had said something about a paint gun, whatever that was. There were plenty of paint sets, paint goggles, paint brushes and paint, but no paint balling. Then there were B.B. guns, air guns, laser guns, cowboy guns and pirate guns but all were useless in Severus' eyes.

Minerva was supposed to be organising the teams, picking names from a hat. Albus was informing all the parents of what was going on for safety reasons. As if the parents gave a toss whether it was safe, Severus snorted.

He flipped the page again and sneered at the sight of a girl jumping on a…_trampoline?_

--

"Hey, Ernie." Harry greeted as he sat down next to the boy in charms.

"Hey, Harry. You hear what's going on?"

Harry looked up from the sheets that had been passed round in confusion. "No, what's going on?"

Ernie sighed and shrugged. "'Dunno. The teachers are all acting odd and Professor Sprout's gotten all excited over something and giggles every two seconds, talking about different colours people could be painted in."

"That's…weird." Harry murmured, remembering the stories he had heard about the strange behaviour of the Hufflepuff head of house.

"And apparently some Slytherins found a muggle catalogue for bungee jumping in Snape's office."

Harry outright laughed at that. "Snape bungee-jumping. That's just disturbing."

"Yeah…"Ernie said with a frown. "Hey, Harry…"

"Hm."

"What's bungee-jumping?"

----

Draco and Blaise sat huddled in a corner of the common room, a very large and heavy book in their hands.

"Urgh, I hate these pages! Why are they so slippery?" Blaise moaned as he turned yet another on of the shiny plastic sheets.

"Maybe muggles like glossy things." Draco absently murmured, looking at the hot air balloons. "That looks dangerous."

"Hm?"

"Having a big burning fire over your head to float in the sky, it's bloody crazy."

"That's muggles for you."

"You don't think Snape's thinking of buying one of these." Draco frowned, remembering his godfather did not like heights.

"I think he must be buying one of these make your own crystals kit."

"Blaise, that's a child's toy and why on earth would Snape want something like that."

Blaise simply shrugged, instead focusing on the water guns that were on the next page.

---

The teachers crowded around the wooden crates that filled the staff room, all unhooking the locks and opening them. All were eager to find out what was inside as they wrenched the boxes apart like young children at Christmas. Professor Sinistra soon found entertainment in the bubble wrap, McGonagall had called it, and was sitting in the corner, popping out the air and forgetting all about the main focus of the parcels.

Professor Flitiwck was suddenly giving shouts of joy as he pulled a large black gun from his crate after getting through all the bubble wrap, Styrofoam packages and plastic bags. Next came Professor Sprout as she pulled out bags upon bags of paint balls. Soon, all the packaging was punished and the guns and paint laid out across the floor of the large staff room.

"Well, there enough paint for the whole school, however I suggest we have separate tournaments as there are not enough guns." Albus said, looking pensieve at one of the green balls.

"And just where are the paint balls supposed to go?" Snape sneered at the gun he was holding.

"In the paint holder." Sprout announced. Everyone turned to her in question, wondering where on earth the pain holder was. Sprout merely held up the very heavy looking instruction manual, pointing to a diagram. "Paint holder." She said again in explanation. The entire staff looked away and back at the guns in extreme confusion.

--

"Hey, Guys!" Ginny Weasley called out to the Gryffindor common room. A few heads turned but went back to their previous studies as they assumed the girl was not talking to them. "Oi, GRYFFINODR HOUSE, YEAH, I'M TALKING TO YOU LOT!" She screamed out, garnering the entire rooms attention.

Silence reigned over the room as the puzzled occupants stared at the panting Weasley girl up front. "The teachers are organising a paint balling tournament for the whole school. We'll get Thursday and Friday off and we'll be grouped in mix house teams." She announced with a broad grin.

There was more silence as the room tried to comprehend what the girl had just said.

"What's pain balling?" Someone finally called out from the back.

Ginny smiled. "No idea, but we get two days off school!"

Next thing the whole room was celebrating at Ginny's final words. Who cared what paint balling was; they got to get off lessons.

The golden trio walked over to Ginny who was now putting a sheet on the notice board.

"Hey, Ginny, what's that?" Harry asked, nodding to the sheet.

"Oh, it's the rules for the games. Professor McGonagall asked me to put them up. She said the teams will be on the board on Wednesday."

"Hey, Harry." Ron suddenly asked with a deep frown on his face. "You're muggle born; what's paint balling?"

"It's a game when you shoot paint at another team and get them splattered. If you get hit, you're out and the team left standing is the winner. It's supposed to be pretty fun but I've never played it."

"Oh, it's great fun. I mean you get your clothes all messy and it does hurt sometimes but it a terrific game." Hermione beamed, looking dreamily at the board.

"Hermione, I didn't think you were the type to play paint ball." Harry asked, looking surprised.

Hermione swiftly turned round to face Harry. "Well, there's no specific rule about who can play is there?" She snapped before walking away in a humph.

Harry blinked at Ron in question. "Don't look at me." Ron said.

"She's your girlfriend." Harry countered before walking away.

--

Harry rolled over down behind the next bush. He looked through the leaves that obscured his vision, breathing lightly, trying to remain quiet. He looked to his right at the tree where Draco Malfoy had his back against. Unable to see what was happening, Harry signalled to his team mate in explanation.

Terry Boot was in front of them, hiding beneath the bushes. Ernie Macmillan had already been shot out. Those were the rules, three hits and your gone from the game. The other team. were worse off though. The red and blue teams were all out. The white and green teams had only one member left from each. The purple, orange and grey (Harry's team) were all missing one player. The yellow team were winning with a total of 4 members still standing, however each member had been hit at least once.

On the grey team, Terry Boot had been his twice, Harry Potter once and Draco Malfoy zero. Most likely because the Slytherin spent most of his time behind trees. There was a series of shots as all three members of the grey team jumped from their hiding places and shot down the entirety of the purple team. There was a loud "Bollocks" As Ron swore before retreating from the game area in defeat along with Gregory Goyle, Hannah Abbott and Padma Patil. The grey group quickly sprinted across the now clear area, ignoring the defeated purple team, before taking up hiding places not too close to the green teams base.

-----

Harry hid behind the tree, breathing heavily. It was just himself and Draco left now, against the last team: yellow team who also had two members left. Originally made of Blaise Zabini, Lisa Turpin, Megan Jones and Hermione Granger, only Blaise Zabini and Lisa Turpin remained. Although there was an even number on each side, Grey was losing. Harry only had one more life line left and Draco two. On the other side, Lisa still had three and Blaise two.

Harry smiled to himself. He rubbed his sore arm that no doubt had a purple bruise from the white paint ball, shot unexpectedly at close range. It wasn't close enough for the other player to be fowled. He looked round at Draco who was now next to him having darting over bushed to hide in the roots.

"Turpin's behind the river bank, it's too good a hiding place for us to hit her without sneaking round and attacking from behind. She can see us from miles away. I think she must be covering Blaise who's attempting to reach us. Last is saw he was behind as bush to our right."

"One of us will have to distract Lisa whilst the other gets Zabini and Turpin after."

"I am not going to a be a sacrificial lamb." The Slytherin growled.

"I wasn't suggesting you to. I only have on life left so it makes sense for me to distract Turpin."

"…may Merlin be with you Potter." Draco said before giving a mock salute. Harry smiled before leaping out from the tree and dashing towards the bank. He stayed away from the right but scanning it for any sign of Blaise. There was a sudden crack and before Harry knew it, he was hit in the chest by a yellow ball coming from the river.

"Ahhhhhhhhh" He screamed out as he fell face first to the floor.

"That is some shit acting Potter. You call that dying?" Blaise shouted out from where he was.

"Well, let's see if you can do better." Draco roared before shooting Blaise twice in succession. Reloading his gun in the fastest time anyone in the game had seen.

"Noooooooooooo. Curses be with you, grey team." Blaise then let out a blood curdling cry before falling sideways from where he was still hiding in the bushes.

"To be honest Blaise, that was worse then Harry's" Lisa screamed from the river bank. Harry laughed out loud from where he lay, not moving until the game was over. There was a grumble from the bushes where Blaise lay.

Lisa screamed in surprise when she turned to find that Draco had snuck up on her during whilst she was focused on Harry. She pulled the trigger but it went to wide, hitting a tree next to her opponent and merely splattering him slightly. She ducked as Draco pulled the trigger but was caught on the shoulder. Now it was two, two and anyone's game. Both ran for cover, Lisa scrambling over the river bank to a tree, Draco now moving forward so he was behind some bushes. Both took the time to catch their breath and reload their guns along with taking out an extra ball, ready for the last shot.

Draco turned first, looking round the bush for any signs of his opponent, It seems his hiding place was not so good as paint splattered over his leg from an unknown area. He shuffled back, slightly in a panic as he had one life left and did not know where his opponent was. He raised his head, searching for the girl whilst she was still reloading. He caught sight of a toe poking from behind a tree and dashed with all his energy towards it. Getting a decent enough angle, he shot, smacking the girl in the side. She screamed in surprise again and turned with her own gun.

Draco felt sudden dread wash over him as he realised there was no cover in the area he was. He adamantly ran, knowing he was about to lose anyway. There was a crack and Draco felt himself his in the back. A coward's death. With a depressed sigh he murmured his death cry.

"Ah." He said before sitting down elegantly on the ground.

"Yes!" Lisa Turpin roared along with Blaise Zabini.

Harry groaned before sitting up. They had lost and were so close.

There was a sudden roar from the edge of the arena as all the other participants and onlookers cheered for the winners. The yellow team regrouped at the front of the arena, holding up their hands and cheering. The held up their prizes and trophy's, similar to the ones already handed out to the lower years who had had their tournaments.

Applause swept through the stands as the grey team shook hands with the yellow. The wards of Hogwarts shuddered slightly. Happiness and joy seeped into the ground and castle, rebooting the lost magic and securing Hogwarts. However, cracks remained. Weakest points merely flickered, hardly strengthening at all. The wards may looks healthy and strong but struck in the right place, they could be swept away with the wind.


	5. A Hundred Million Suns

Part 5: United

Harry sat up, staring in wonder. Ancient Magic was so beautiful and pure. A small globe of light shone in his hand, slowly circling, it's light painting itself on the curtains of his four poster bed. The spell was called "The Strength of the Sun", invented by Helga Hufflepuff herself. Harry was amazed by how such a small piece of paper could hold so much power.

"Oi, Ron."

"Yeah." Ron replied from his bed where he was finishing off tomorrows Transfiguration homework without Hermione realising.

"Throw something at my bed."

"…what?" Ron asked moving from his bed to stare at the curtains of Harry's.

"Just do it alright!"

There was a loud bang as the book was bounced off the curtains of Harry's bed and thrown to the other side of the room. Seamus jumped up from where he was sleeping.

"Wot the fuck!"

"Harry, what was that?" Ron asked in amazement.

Pulling back the curtains, Harry grinned at Ron. "My very own sun."

"Albus, have you seen this?" Minerva murmured to the headmaster at the breakfast table.

The recently refurbished Ollivander's had been set fire to. Whilst no one was harmed, terrorist attacks and fear from the public had set Diagon Alley into a panic. Shops had closed down and owners had evacuated the area. Clearly, Death Eaters were on the rampage.

"Hm, yes, that does pose a problem." Dumbledore murmured, as he looked upon the students, many of whom had frowns reading the papers themselves.

"We cannot have the students set in a panic, they will not unite under tense circumstances."

"I know Minerva."

McGonagall pursed her lips at the headmaster and frowned in expectation. "Well, what do we do?"

"I'm afraid, I simply do not know."

"But, Harry, your realise this could mean the school could be attacked next." Hermione said as she followed Harry to Defence Against the Dark Arts.

"Yes, I know, but don't worry, i've got it sorted."

"I'm sure the Ancient wards will be strong enough, but I just don't believe you can get the entire school to do that together."

"Well I'll just have to think of a way then won't I." Harry gritted.

"WILL ALL STUDENTS PLEASE MOVE TO THE MAIN HALL IMMEDIATELY."

"WILL ALL STUDENTS PLEASE MOVE TO THE MAIN HALL IMMEDIATELY"

Draco and Pansy ran up the stair. Another bang and the rumble though the school knocked Pansy of her feet. She made a small yelp in surprise but then Draco helped her up and the Slytherins continued to run from the dungeons.

"Draco, what is it?"

"Death eaters." He spat out in reply, dragging Pansy round the corner to get to the Main Hall.

The pair hit something hard as they turned the corner.

"Ernie!" Draco cried in surprise, helping the Hufflepuff from the floor but fell back down as the castle shook again.

"Nice to see you again." Ernie yelled over the shouts and screams of other students. "Despite the nasty circumstances."

"Yeah, same here. Come on, let's get moving."

The three continued to make their way into the hall. Upon entering they raised their eyebrows at the chaos as students sat where they could. Tables were not laid out and instead pupils sat in their groups as whatever classes they'd just escaped from. The younger students huddled together, uncaring of what House they were in. The three moved towards the nearest group of people in their own year: Terry Boot, Padma Patil and a younger Ravenclaw.

The 6 then sat together, wondering what was going to happen next.

"Severus, have we contacted the Ministry?"

"Yes, they have aurors fighting off the Death Eaters outside, but it is a large area to cover, there's not much they can do."

Albus worked his way through his students, thinking of how he was to calm them. He could not evacuate them from the school, it was too high a possibility they could lose a student. To fight them would mean the teachers would have to momentarily take the wards down to find the Death Eaters.

He felt so trapped. Maybe he was getting old but this was no time to worry about that, he had to care for his pupils. Albus sat at the head table and waited for the rest of the teachers with their students.

Harry knew he had to do something now, but what? Suddenly his idea to protect the wards seemed foolish.

"Harry, we've got to try it now" Ron said.

"Try what?" Dean asked.

"A spell to strengthen the wards." Ron answered.

"Merlin, yeah Harry we need to do it. What is it you've got planned?"

Harry felt his strength slip away as the Gryffindors started murmuring about "the plan". Damn nosy Gryffindors, always looking out for what to do next.

"Look, Ron, we should probably just leave it to Professor Dumbledore to sort it out."

"No, Harry, look at him." Hermione murmured. "I don't think he knows what to do." She sounded genuinely worried and indeed, the headmaster was looking older than ever.

"Okay, this is the spell…" Harry started to the Gryffindors and a few Hufflepuffs listening in.

"Hey, what's going on?" Draco asked the second year Hufflepuff who was scribbling some notes down on a sheet of paper.

"We're writing down our wishes, hopes and dreams." The Hufflepuff nonchalantly answered.

"er…I'm sorry, what?" Pansy spluttered.

"It's Ancient Magic, from Helga Hufflepuff. It's going to protect the wards."

"…right." She answered sending a smirk to the rest of the guys in the group. Draco and Pansy turned their back and moved back into the conversation.

_  
"…and then you just focus on all these thought. I know it sounds silly, but really, just focus. Once you've focused all this energy, just…let go." The folded piece of paper in Harry's hand suddenly burst into flames before settling into a smallsun. There was a gasp amongst the crowd of onlookers.

"And this really works?" A Slytherin asked.

"Throw something at me." Harry smirked in reply.

There was a pause, before the Slytherin smirked back and threw his entire bag at Harry. It ricochet off the shield around Harry and flew across the hall, gathering the attention of the rest of the room.

"What is going on here?" Severus Snap asked, appearing from nowhere.

"Er…" Harry murmured.

"Sir, it's a spell to protect the school." Hermione answered. "It's Ancient Magic, from Helga Hufflepuff. It was made for the School's wards but it was never put into practice due to her untimely death."

Snape sneered at the students before him, looking down at the hopeful faces from students from all houses. His eyes landed at the sun in Harry's hands.

"Potter, get up and follow me."

_  
"May I have your attention please." The Headmaster calmly spoke and immediately silence fell across the hall. "Our school is suffering the remaining anger of a war that has affected us all. We have been through a lot but most of our pain we have suffered independently. But now is the time for us to band together, to forget our troubles and our past and to focus on our future, our hopes wishes and dreams. The last few remaining death eaters are attacking the wards of the school. Whilst the Hogwarts school wards have remained strong since the school began, they depend on the unity of those within it. The war has separated us and created splits between the Houses, deeper than ever before. You are asked today, to forget your troubles and work together. This is a day that will go down in history. We are asking you to replenish the wards of Hogwarts as her students. So, may I hand your attention over to Mr Harry Potter, who will explain to you our solution."

Harry nervously stepped up to the main table. McGonagall squeezed his shoulder in support. All the teachers had agreed, this should work, but it was down to Harry as to whether the students will do it.

"Er…well, I found this spell, er…Ancient Magic by Helga Hufflepuff…." Harry glanced over the filled hall of expectant teenagers. "You need to write down what you want, what you dream of, what's most important to you. It doesn't matter what it is, you just need to put it down in words, everything you want for your future. Once you've done that, you hold the paper in your hands and just focus on what you've written down. It's difficult to explain, it's about feeling for your magic and what you want. Once you've grasped your magic you send it to the paper and let go. The rest, the teachers will do by writing the Ancient Magic on walls of the castle. And er… that's it."

There was a moment of silence as Harry finished his hurried explanation. Then, a quiet snicker came from the back of the room and soon half the room was laughing.

"Silence!" Albus roared. All laughter stopped. Albus paused, looking upon the students, not knowing what to say.

Harry looked at his lost headmaster.

"Look, guys, I know it's stupid but we need to defend ourselves. The war Is not over yet when we still fight amongst ourselves. This spell is called Strength of the Sun, stupid right, but look at the ceiling, where has our night sky gone." People looked up and all they saw was the dark cloudy night. "We need to fill the sky with our starts. Like this!"

Harry cried out, throwing his own start up to the ceiling. It floated there. A single glowing light. The students looked up in amazement. Hermione stared in wonder at the beauty of the light. With her wish in hand she repeated Harry, and up her sunwent. Soon the rest of the Gryffindors followed and lights were filling the sky.

Harry watched, smiling as Hogwarts wished for what they wanted. He frowned as he caught sight of some Slytherins who were struggling. Crossing the hall, he found Draco and Pansy huddling together.

"You guys alright?" Harry asked with a frown.

"Fuck off Potter." Malfoy retorted.

"No, it's fine." Pansy cried into Malfoy's shoulder.

"What's going on?" Harry asked again.

There was quiet between the two Slytherins. "It's just hard to focus on something to wish for when I know my father is out there trying the break in."

Pansy's father was a death eater. And surely there must be plenty of other students who are all too aware of what could happen is the wards fell. Fear was conquering hope. There was a shudder from the building again and Harry looked up to see a few suns fading.

He stood up again and turned to school. "Guys, I know you're scared. You're worried. But trust me, trust each other. Just think of what we can do with this world. What we can bring to it once all this is over. The aurors will catch the death eaters and we can get on with our lives."

Pansy smiled at Harry. Her face lit up, literally, as a sun formed in her hand. It floated up and joined the others. Soon the teachers had lit theirs. The hall had never been so bright. People watched in awe as one by one the suns joined together in thin threads. They spread out, away from the hall and covered the entirety of Hogwarts. The light filled through the bricks of the school, strengthening them and refurbishing old and crumbling structures. Then there was silence. The students looked around, waiting for…something.

"Minerva, I think someone should get an update from the aurors." Dumbledore murmured. McGonagall quickly left the hall.

"I would just like to say, thank you. Thank you to the students of Hogwarts who have put their hearts into saving the school. Well done everyone."

McGonagall was back in double quick timing. "The aurors have caught 5 of the death eater. Only two escaped but it seems they'd left when the aurors had first arrived."

"In that case, I believe we shall have an early dinner. A feast for us all." Dumbledore smiled.


End file.
